The 45th session of the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS) has opened in Budapest Hungary for a week of deliberations on topics relating to a range of commodities and issues. Opening the meeting, the President of Hungary’s national food chain safety office (Nebih), Dr Imre Nemes DVM, underlined the importance and significance for Hungary of hosting this highly technical committee, describing the role as “a responsibility for scientific soundness, transparency and international cooperation.” He continued: “the work [...]

The World Food Safety Day 2026 campaign has launched with details of this year’s theme:  “From burden to solutions – safe food everywhere”. Led by the World Health Organization (WHO), this year’s campaign is dedicated to highlighting the burden of foodborne diseases and the science-based solutions that can prevent them. Central to the 2026 theme is the upcoming release of updated WHO estimates of the foodborne disease burden, which will be published in June in a key findings report accompanied by [...]

Attila Nagy has been Chairperson the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS) for almost a decade, and has previously served as Vice-chairperson of the committee. He is a passionate advocate for this work and is at the forefront of innovations such as databasing this vital work. We caught up with him to find out about his preparations for the 45th session of the committee, which will take place 9–13 March 2026 in Budapest, Hungary. Attila thanks for your [...]

With the support of the European Union-funded Market Access Upgrade Programme Phase II (MARKUP II), which is implemented through the International Trade Centre (ITC), the East African Community (EAC) partner states under the technical committee (TC) on food additives has met in Juba, South Sudan, to develop regional standards for gum arabic. Uganda, as the host of the TC secretariat, guides the process of food additives standards development. The meeting was hosted 23-27 February 2026 by South Sudan to commence the [...]

Standards are "the hidden infrastructure of modern economies" according to the World Bank’s World Development Report 2025, which focuses on standards for development. In a corroboration of the Codex maxim that standards are the invisible thread that links up the food supply chain, the report considers Codex standards alongside many other types of standards. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was host, Monday 2 March, to an event led, in collaboration with the Codex Secretariat, by the World Bank team involved [...]

Abu Dhabi, 26 February 2026 The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was been elected as the geographic representative for the Near East region to the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission for the 2026–2028 term. The election took place during the 48th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in Rome, where Her Excellency Mouza Suhail Al Muhairi, Deputy Director-General for Regulatory and Administrative Affairs at the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) and Chair of the UAE National Codex [...]

Siem Reap, Cambodia – 25 February 2025 The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through the Action to support implementation of Codex AMR texts (ACT) project funded by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of the Republic of Korea, successfully completed a three‑day training on Costing and Budgeting for the Multi‑Sectoral Action Plan (MSAP) on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) 2025–2029, in Siem Reap, Cambodia. More than 40 government officials from Cambodia’s Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry [...]

On 2 March 2026, the World Bank Group Institute for Economic Development and the Codex Secretariat will host a high-level session to discuss the role of standards in global development. With the participation of FAO and IPPC, the event will center on findings from the World Development Report (WDR) 2025, Standards for Development, exploring how technical frameworks serve as the "hidden infrastructure" that determines the success of agrifood systems. The discussion will focus on the following areas: Standards underpin trust and market access [...]

The 29th session of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils (CCFO) has concluded in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, having discussed a raft of topics and forwarded for preliminary adoption a draft standard for microbial omega-3 oils, amendments to the List of Acceptable Previous Cargoes (Appendix II to CXC 36-1987) and three proposals for new work for approval. “As chairperson of this Committee, I'm very honoured to be given this role,” said Chairperson, Zailina Abdul Majid, who chaired CCFO for the first [...]

by the Codex Contact Point of Uganda and the Coordinator for CCAFRICA   The Codex Committee on Fats and Oils (CCFO) held its 29th Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, bringing together member countries and observers to deliberate on key standards and issues like industrially produced trans fatty acids (iTFAs), deliberations on microbial Omega-3 oils, discussion on the list of acceptable cargoes, matters related to the olive oils, alongside the assessment of four new work proposals in the fats and oils sector. The [...]